
Wild Bill Wellman
Hollywood Rebel
William Wellman(Author)
Pantheon (Publisher)
Published on 7. April 2015
Book
Hardback
656 pages
978-0-307-37770-8 (ISBN)
Description
The extraordinary life—the first—of the legendary, undercelebrated Hollywood director known in his day as “Wild Bill” (and he was!) Wellman, whose eighty-two movies (six of them uncredited), many of them iconic; many of them sharp, cold, brutal; others poetic, moving; all of them a lesson in close-up art, ranged from adventure and gangster pictures to comedies, aviation, romances, westerns, and searing social dramas with Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, and Clint Eastwood.
Among his iconic pictures: the pioneering World War I epic Wings (winner of the first Academy Award for best picture), Public Enemy (the toughest gangster picture of them all), Nothing Sacred, the original A Star Is Born, Beggars of Life, The Call of the Wild, The Ox-Bow Incident, Battleground, The High and the Mighty...
Now William Wellman, Jr., drawing on his father’s unpublished letters, diaries, and unfinished memoir, gives us the first full portrait of the man. Here is a revealing, boisterous portrait of the handsome, tough-talking, hard-drinking, uncompromising maverick; a portrait of a profoundly American spirit and visionary, a man’s man who was able to put into cinematic storytelling the most subtle and fulsome of feeling, a man feared, respected, and loved.
Among his iconic pictures: the pioneering World War I epic Wings (winner of the first Academy Award for best picture), Public Enemy (the toughest gangster picture of them all), Nothing Sacred, the original A Star Is Born, Beggars of Life, The Call of the Wild, The Ox-Bow Incident, Battleground, The High and the Mighty...
Now William Wellman, Jr., drawing on his father’s unpublished letters, diaries, and unfinished memoir, gives us the first full portrait of the man. Here is a revealing, boisterous portrait of the handsome, tough-talking, hard-drinking, uncompromising maverick; a portrait of a profoundly American spirit and visionary, a man’s man who was able to put into cinematic storytelling the most subtle and fulsome of feeling, a man feared, respected, and loved.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Random House USA Inc
Product notice
Rough front
Illustrations
B&W ILLUSTRATIONS THROUGHOUT
Dimensions
Height: 241 mm
Width: 168 mm
Thickness: 41 mm
Weight
953 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-307-37770-8 (9780307377708)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Person
William Wellman, Jr.
Content
Introduction: Wild Bill Wellman ix
1. The Rebel 3
2. The Recruit 25
3. The Pilot 53
4. The War Hero 83
5. The Hollywood Ladder 111
6. The Directors' Board 145
7. The Road to a Classic 163
8. Battlefield Wings 185
9. Consequences and Achievements 209
10. Pranks and Misdemeanors 235
11. I Ain't So Tough 253
12. The Neon Violin 289
13. Looking for Trouble 307
14. Passions and Prizes 327
15. The Golden Year 345
16. The Road to Ox-Bow 363
17. Picture Patchwork 387
18. Battleground Sends a Message 421
19. Goodbye MGM, Hello John Wayne 451
20. The Final Straw 479
21. The Flame Is Flickering 501
Addendum 521
Afterword 523
Acknowledgments 527
Filmography 529
Academy Award Recognition 581
Notes 583
Selected Bibliography 617
Index 621
1. The Rebel 3
2. The Recruit 25
3. The Pilot 53
4. The War Hero 83
5. The Hollywood Ladder 111
6. The Directors' Board 145
7. The Road to a Classic 163
8. Battlefield Wings 185
9. Consequences and Achievements 209
10. Pranks and Misdemeanors 235
11. I Ain't So Tough 253
12. The Neon Violin 289
13. Looking for Trouble 307
14. Passions and Prizes 327
15. The Golden Year 345
16. The Road to Ox-Bow 363
17. Picture Patchwork 387
18. Battleground Sends a Message 421
19. Goodbye MGM, Hello John Wayne 451
20. The Final Straw 479
21. The Flame Is Flickering 501
Addendum 521
Afterword 523
Acknowledgments 527
Filmography 529
Academy Award Recognition 581
Notes 583
Selected Bibliography 617
Index 621